1776 {COMPLETED}

Trees and Boats

(Belle's POV)

I sit up and look do.....wn. I'm in a tree? Oh my god it's really tall, I'm gonna die, I am going to die. "Oh my god, how do I get down??" I see Julian talking to Elliot on the ground. "Help me!!!!" I shout. They both look up. Elliot turns to Julian and say something along the lines of, "We found Belle!" or "I found Belle." I look down at them, "HOW DO I GET DOWN??" Julian puts up his index finger, as in wait a second. He begins to climb the tree.

I glance over and see Savannah hugging the tree. She shimmies her way down the tree. She rests her foot on a branch, then it snaps. She falls three feet, before landing on another branch. I hear a loud, "owwwwww." Julian looks back, "You good?" Savannah, obviously in pain says, "I think I broke my tailbone, but I'm good." He turns back to the tree, hiding his laughter. She more carefully climbs down the tree. As Julian comes closer, I say, "Let's not do what Savannah just did." He laughs, "Aw, that's what I was planning to do." He grabs my waist and we crawl down the tree. I watch Elliot help Savannah down.

Once all four of us are on the ground, we read the paper. Hello you four! Welcome to 1820! You'll find yourself in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Tomorrow, the ship "Essex" will sail. The Essex will sink due to a whale, then the survivors will resort to cannibalism. That can't happen! So prevent to ship from sailing! Have fun!!! Oh, Belle, your father is pissed at me. He knows where you are, he says "hi. and stay safe." Savannah, your "mother" and "father" think your dead. So do your real parents. Julian, your a missing person. Elliot, your friends assume your on an op. My throat swells. My dad says "hi." I miss him so much. Savannah frowns, "No. No, no! I had one relationship! One! I don't have any friends or a significant other! The least they could have done is made me a missing person! They just had to tell everybody I'm dead. However, here I am suffering the consequences, because I am very much alive!" She takes a deep breath, "Okay. Let's go prevent cannibalism!"

Savannah is our leader. Not everyone sees it, but she is. She's perfect for it though, she's strong and badass, but she still breaks down, just like the rest of us. She's comforting, I remember when I started balling, she was there. Julian is the one who lightens the mood, cracking jokes and being sarcastic. He makes me smile. And Elliot, is our protector. He saves us, and follows Savannah's orders. He's a quick thinker. And me? I'm not sure what I am.

We find the town after 45 minutes of walking. We went the wrong way. The four of us manage to stumble into town. We enter the town through a back alley. It leads to a market place that's filled with people. "So, how do we stop the ship from leaving?" I ask. Savannah smirks, "We break something. I'm not sure what, but something. Something that won't let the ship move." We all stand there in thought, "The sails. We steal the sails," Savannah says, yet again forming our plan. Elliot nods, "That'll work. Let's do this." Savannah walks towards the dock.

    A large boat is sitting directly in front of us. "So, how are we going to do this?" Julian asks. Savannah crosses her arms, "That's a good question." I take a step forward, "We just have to throw the sails in the ocean, they'll sink." Savannah nods, "Then we use the art of distraction, once again." She furrows her brow, "I'll start doing flips." Elliot raises his eyebrows, "What kind of flips?" She stretches her arms, "Back handspring, back tuck, cartwheels, front tuck, roundoff back handspring, a full, etc." He throws his hands up, "Go for it."

   She walks up to the plank where only three men stand, "Hey, you all! I want to show you something! I'm going to join the circus, but I need some opinions. Can you help me?" The men agree quickly, her beauty helped I'm sure.

    She lead them over to a patch of grass and we run up the plank. As we run, I see her doing a series of complicated flips. She jut keeps on going, towards then backwards. Julian and Elliot use their muscles to throw the giant sails overboard. I hear the men clapping and Savannah does a curtsy. They begin to turn around, but she taps them on the shoulders.

    "We have to hurry. Savannah can't go on much longer," I say. Elliot and Julian work as fast as they can, but it's not fast enough. Savannah does a few lazy and poor flips. She can't do anymore. She waves at me. The men begin to turn around, just as Elliot throws the last one overboard. I shove Elliot and Julian into the water before jumping myself.

   I pop up from the water. Elliot treads as we wait for Julian. He pops up, struggling, "I can't swim..." I gasp. "Oh my god," Elliot says. Julian begins to tread water, "Just kidding!" I roll my eyes.

    "Get down!" Elliot says. He dives deep, Julian and I do the same. I hear yelling from above the water. I keep swimming until I can't breathe. I see Savannah glancing around nervously. She gives me wide eyes when I wave. "Go down," she mouths. I dive back down. I hear a gun shot from above.

     A hand grabs me. I think it's Elliot. He barricades me. I hear three more gun shots, I can't breathe. I feel Elliot tighten his grip. Then, someone grabs me. They throw me up, "Run!" Is all I hear. I get out and run towards the woods. I see Julian behind me, "Go!" he shouts. I run and run, until I can't anymore. We ran for a long time. Neither of us bother to waste breath and talk. After at least 20 minutes of running straight, I fall over.

    Julian lies down too. "What happened? Where's Elliot and Savannah?" I ask him. "Elliot got shot. Savannah is taking him. I don't know where or how. She just told me to keep you safe." He says between breaths. I look over to him, "Do you think he's going to make it?" He sighs, "Do you want me to sugar coat it?" I shake my head. "No. Unless Savannah has magical medical skills and all the proper equipment in her bra, then no. We're in the early 1800's. Medicine isn't that great. They haven't invented deodorant yet, let alone a way to fix bullet wounds." I try not to cry. "Look. He might survive. I don't know where he was shot." That doesn't help. We sit there, drying off and cold as it gets dark.

I hope the cliffhanger wasn't too bad!
Next chapter soon!
-Grace